


Dealing with Domesticity

by butyoumight



Series: Shuffling Your Deck of Trick Cards [10]
Category: Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dubious Consent, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-13
Updated: 2011-06-13
Packaged: 2017-10-20 09:05:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/211080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/butyoumight/pseuds/butyoumight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>"You have always made good decisions, my son. Rash, perhaps, often rushed. But they always work out in the end. I know you're doing right in this galaxy." </i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Dealing with Domesticity

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for Episode 15. Alternate Universe as of Episode 16.

Joe's mother had stayed outside to watch Therese's departure, and as they approached the look of concern on her features shifted into surprise. As they entered the unmarked boundaries of their yard she lost any sense of propriety, running like a woman half her age to her son. Joe wanted to run again, wanted to hide, didn't want to face this or maybe just didn't want to share it with Basco. He wasn't sure.

His mother threw her arms around Joe's waist and squeezed with a strength that belied her slight appearance. Joe was breathless, and she was crying.

"Joe, my Joe! My darling son,"

Joe's throat was dry, his tongue felt stuck to the roof of his mouth. "Na-ma." The familiar term of endearment felt strange to him, it had been far too long since he'd spoken it.

She pulled away finally to compose herself, and Joe found that he was misty eyed as well. He closed his eyes and took a few calming breaths. Basco slid up beside him, brushing their hips together, but he didn't take Joe's hand again, which Joe was grateful for.

Joe's mother took his hand, and he looked at her again. She really had barely changed at all. Not like he knew he had.

"I won't lie and say I wasn't worried about you." She finally spoke, her voice steady. "I was beginning to think we'd never see you again. All the others have come to visit." Her tone was lightly accusing, and he knew she meant the other young men and women who had enlisted at the same time as he had. They were probably all still soldiers with Zangyack, long enough in the service to earn leave.

She turned her attention then to Basco, standing unobtrusively at Joe's side. "Who is your friend?"

Joe looked to Basco, who smiled, all good grace. He again replicated the bow Joe had greeted Therese with, then stepped forward to offer his hand. "Basco ta Jolokia," he introduced himself smoothly. "And may I say, it is truly an honor to meet the woman who gave life to my dear Joe."

Joe blinked at Basco, disbelieving. He's fairly certain Basco had never once spoken his real name. Plus there was this act he was putting on, as though he and Joe were comrades, or maybe something more.

 _His_ dear Joe, he'd said. How much of what he said was simply play for him? And how much did he mean, or at least think he meant?

Joe's mother shook Basco's hand briefly, then turned to Joe again. She couldn't help but hug him once more, and this time he returned the gesture properly. He owed her at least that much.

"Come inside," she said, pulling away and dragging on Joe's arm. "Come in, both of you. We have so much to talk about. I want to know everything."

Joe actually smiled at this, though it was quite without mirth. There was no way he could tell her everything. He was pretty sure he couldn't tell her nearly anything.

But he didn't really have a choice, and so he followed her into the house, Basco close behind him.

She settled them down around the table that took up a good portion of the front room, and retreated to the little kitchen separated from them by a low wall. "Your father should be home soon. He'll be so excited to see you, he always told me you'd come to visit."

Joe feels incredibly guilty suddenly, very aware that if it hadn't been for Basco it was a real possibility that he'd never have returned to this planet, and if he had he would probably not have gone through with seeing his parents.

Basco scooted his chair around the table a bit so as to sit as close as possible to Joe. He still didn't take Joe's hand again, but Joe could somehow tell that he was certainly thinking about it.

His mother returned with a tray bearing a steaming tea pot and three cups, setting it down on the table and pouring it out for them before sitting in the third chair. He picked up a tea cup, grateful for something to do with his hands that might discourage Basco's advances.

"What have you been up to?" She asked finally, sitting back and fixing him with a steady stare. "You've gotten so tall."

"I suppose I have." Joe ducked his head. "I'm not with Zangyack anymore." He answered her question carefully, glancing at Basco for guidance. Basco, who claimed to have had a plan, a story Joe could actually tell his parents, lies though it was all bound to be.

"Somehow I figured not." She returned, smiling at him. "What do you do now?"

Basco leaned forward, making a show of picking up his own cup of tea. "He works with me, now. I'm an ally of the Empire, and when I met him, I couldn't rest until I'd convinced him to join me." His lie came smoothly, as though he'd been rehearsing this story. Even Joe had to appreciate the performance Basco was putting on.

"And what do you do,-" She paused, and Basco smiled.

"Just Basco is fine."

"You may call me Naomi."

Basco nodded. "Of course, my dear lady. To answer your question, I'm something of a freelancer. I run errands and do some transport." Joe raised an eyebrow at this, but held his tongue.

Naomi looked up when the door opened, then stood to greet her husband. Joe felt stricken, he felt he should stand and greet his father, but he was afraid his legs wouldn't support him.

Basco did stand, a show of respect with such grace that Joe can't tell how sincere it is. He touched Joe's shoulder briefly, a quick grip with just his fingertips. Joe took a steadying breath and slowly rose to his feet, swaying slightly but managing to stand.

"Son." His father's voice hadn't changed even if he had. His face was more lined, his hair more white now than black.

"Ja-da." Again, the unfamiliar feeling of the endearment, again Joe felt as if he were a child.

"Come here,"

Joe obeyed, taking a few steps towards his father. This time Basco deferred, standing back and watching curiously as Joe and his father embraced, not as frantically as the hug from his mother had been. Joe's father felt strangely fragile in his arms, and Joe felt suddenly sick as he realized that his father had been ill, possibly still was.

Joe pulled back, swallowed back the dark feeling rising in his throat and threatening to choke him.

"You came home."

Joe nodded. He couldn't meet his father's eyes. He felt overwhelmed, suddenly aware of his father's age, his obviously failing health. Aware that, if not for Basco, he might have never seen his father again. It felt strange, almost painful, that he owed this important moment to _Basco_.

"You should introduce me to your friend." His father prompted, again dropping Joe into the mindset of a forgetful child. He jerked slightly, then moved back to the table, gesturing at Basco without looking at him.

"Basco, meet my father, Jacob Gibken. Father, this is Basco ta Jolokia."

Basco seemed to really be getting into the culture of his surroundings, bowing deeply and offering his hand to Joe's father. "It's an honor to meet you, sir."

Jacob shook Basco's hand, searching his face. Joe stood nervously beside them, his fingers fretting at each other. His father was an intelligent and perceptive man, and Joe was worried he might be able to see through even Basco's skillful act.

Jacob did seem a little off-put by Basco's graciousness, but he took it in his stride, pulling a fourth chair to the table and sitting. Basco and Joe sat with him, and Naomi shortly joined them, with another tea cup for her husband.

"How long will you be staying?" Jacob asked.

Joe glanced to Basco, again waiting for his lead.

"Not long, I'm afraid." Basco answered for them, sipping politely at his tea. "We were simply in the area on business, and Joe couldn't bear not to come down."

"We appreciate it." Jacob said, looking at his son as though he knew Joe's real reluctance to be here, to relieve such a part of his past that he had ashamedly done his best to forget. "So, you're not a soldier anymore."

Joe shook his head. "No, I'm not."

"It worried me, when you enlisted so quickly. You don't like rigid order, my son, you never did. That was why you could not live here. I knew that, and I accepted that. But military, that was no place for you. Forgive me for saying, but you're too _good_."

Joe blushed furiously and looked down into his tea. He felt he should thank his father for the compliment, but he didn't feel particularly good in any way just then. He felt like a terrible son, avoiding his past and lying to his parents.

"And you," Jacob turned to Basco. "What is your relation to my son?"

Joe's heart crept into his throat. He had been wondering when this would come up. He couldn't in good conscience call Basco his Captain, even if that was the best option to keep up their charade. Marvelous was his Captain, damn it, and he refused to allow Basco to erase Marvelous from him. But that didn't leave many options that weren't the damning truth of 'kidnapper and captor and _owner_ '.

"We're partners." Basco answered, and there was a hint of something more in the way he chose his words. He elaborated shortly, leaving unspoken his other intent, though it rang in Joe's ears. "Your son is very talented with a sword. My line of work can be very dangerous, what with Space Pirates lurking around every moon."

"Partners." Naomi said softly, having also keyed in on Basco's wording, exchanging a pointed glance with her husband. She cleared her throat, addressing her son. "Your hair is still long, Joe?"

"Yes." Joe said sharply, shooting a glare at Basco that the older man pointedly ignored. "I'm not married." He felt the need to make himself completely plain. Once upon what felt like a very long time ago, he had promised Marvelous that he would never cut his hair. At that time, he'd thought it was only Marvelous playing with him, teasing him about keeping the customs of a planet they'd both assumed long since gone. But he'd come to learn that Marvelous was a possessive sort, just what you'd expect from a pirate by birthright. He'd admittedly coveted his entire crew.

Basco simply smiled, and when Joe's parents exchanged another glance, Basco gave Joe an approving nod.

There was more talking. Jacob seemed particularly interested in Basco and the stories of his business throughout the galaxy that Basco was apparently pulling out of thin air. Joe tuned them out slightly, took the time to sip his tea and watch his parents, creating memories to take with him when they left.

He knew he'd never be coming back.

"Joe."

He shook himself out of his reverie, looking to his mother. She smiled at him. "Will you both be staying for supper?"

Basco looked to Joe this time, and Joe blinked. "I don't think we can." He said carefully, with a slight tone of regret. He wanted to but not, he realized, with Basco.

"Well, will you come help me start preparing? Like old times?"

Joe stood up. He knew what this was, his mother wanted to speak to him alone. "Of course, Na-ma."

Basco was smiling again, and the expression was strangely sweet. Joe could feel Basco's eyes on him as they left the main room, even as Joe's father asked him another question about space travel and Basco answered.

Joe knew his way around the kitchen still, and he realized he could still move seamlessly well with his mother. As an only child, he'd been expected to help and learn from both of his parents equally. There were no real rules about gender roles on this planet, everyone was expected to do the best they could to survive. He could work as comfortably with his mother in the kitchen as he could assisting his father in a class.

"Joe." She finally said again, reaching for his wrist and pulling him close. She looked up at him, tucked his bangs behind his ears. The gesture made Joe's spine tingle, it was something Basco did so often. "This Basco, he's uncommonly fond of you."

Joe gulped. His mother was perceptive too, but on a much more emotional level than his father. His initial thought was of course that Basco had simply swindled her, as he swindled everyone he came in contact with. But she had to be too smart for that. Was Basco really so attached to him, not just as a tool, or as a pet, but as a person? As some kind of companion?

"You have always made good decisions, my son. Rash, perhaps, often rushed. But they always work out in the end. I know you're doing right in this galaxy."

Joe blinked back tears. "Thank you, Na-ma."

Basco and Joe left before his parents sat down to eat. Joe hugged each of his parents fiercely, imprinting the feeling of them in his mind, vowing never to forget them. Basco shook each of their hands and thanked them graciously for their hospitality.

The walk back over the mountains and through the town, now darkening as the white-hot sun set in the distance, felt infinitely longer than the walk to his parent's home had been. Joe's entire body felt heavy, overloaded with reminiscence and new memories and painful confusion about where he stood now with Basco. Basco who had now not only shared something so incredibly intimate with Joe, but been the one to give him such an incredible, if frightening, gift.

The _Free Joker_ was waiting for them, her running lights on, her gangplank down as if Sally had known exactly when they were returning. Joe broke into a run, ready to be back on the ship even if it wasn't ever truly going to be home. Away from any possible prying eyes. Basco followed slowly after him, watching him.

Once in the helm, Joe stumbled and fell, his knees hitting the deck with a resounding clash. Sally huffed at him, lumbering away once Basco arrived and greeted her.

Basco gathered Joe into his arms, held him close, pressed his face into Joe's hair. "What's wrong?"

"Can we leave?" Joe choked out. He was crying, and he hated himself for it. "Please, can we just leave?"

"But your lady friend. She wanted to see you again."

"She'll understand." Joe gulped, then shook his head. "No, she wouldn't understand. But she won't know."

Basco stroked Joe's hair tenderly, and actually pressed a very light kiss to his temple. "Of course, blue-chan. Whatever you want."

Joe appreciated the return of the stupid nickname. He never wanted Basco to call him Joe again.

Basco left Joe sprawled on the floor, went to the helm to take them off planet. He smiled to himself, quite sure he'd accomplished all he wanted out of this little trip. Well worth the lost bounty from any marks they might have otherwise hit.

Joe was stricken, confused and miserable. Basco was quite pleased.


End file.
